Forgotten Farrukhnagar

Friday, 11 October 2013

Driving past the
suave shopping malls and glass & chrome high-rises of glitzy Gurgaon, we
hit the dusty Basai Road, where the road widening appears a perennial activity
and the last of land-grabbers (read realtors) promise to offer fancy life
styles in their fancier gated townships named after some esoteric English
counties. A few kilometres down the road the scene changed for better…the dirt
& grime gave way to greenery of wheat fields with patches of bright yellow
hues of marigold cultivation. Driving along we reached Sultanpur Bird
Sanctuary, a huge water body, where many species of migratory birds home in
during the winter. We headed to Rosy Pelican, a Haryana Tourism outfit for a
breakfast with stuffed paranthas and sandwiches. After the quick fill and a
short drive of about 5 kms. we reached Farrukhnagar.

Now a nondescript town of Haryana hinterland, Farrukhnagar, named after Mughal
Emperor, Farrukhsiyar (1713-1719) was founded in 1732 AD by his Governor
Faujdar Khan, who declared himself as the first Nawab of Farrukhnagar. The town
assumed commercial importance due to trading in salt made from the brine
available in its many wells. Nawab Ahmed Ali Khan of Farrukhnagar rebelled
against the British in India’s first war of independence in 1857 along with the
nearby principalities of Jhajjar, Rewari and Ballabhgarh. Later they were all
tried of treason and executed by the British and their estates were seized by
the colonial rulers. As the British relocated the salt trade to Rajasthan,
Farrukhnagar lost all its glory. Ruins of its forts, palaces and havelis today
remain mute spectators of the town’s rich legacy.

Winding along a narrow road through the milieu of everyday commerce in the
urbanized village oblivious of its past glory we crossed Dilli Darwaza, the
main gateway to Farrukhnagar Fort, which once housed about 4000 people. The
gate replete with heavily fortified large wooden doors was restored in 2009,
thanks to the conservation efforts by INTACH. We stopped by at Jama Masjid,
built by Nawab Faujdar Khan in red sand stones with a whole lot of Arabic
inscriptions from Quran. With the change in local influence, the mosque
metamorphosed into the Ram-Seeta Mandir complete with the idols and also a
Gurudwara as proclaimed at the main entrance.

Close to Jama Masjid, we could locate Sheesh Mahal, the palace built in 1711 AD
by Nawab Faujdar Khan for the royal residence. Unfortunately we could only catch
a glimpse from the locked out iron gate as the caretaker was merrily absconding
with the key with the spell of ongoing holidays. We came across many old
havelies with facades of ornate cast iron grills and carved sand stones.

Coming to the other end of Farrukhnagar we reached Jhajjari Darwaza, the
gateway leading to its neighbouring district town, Jhajjar. As we clambered up
the top of the darwaza, we caught the glimpse of Sethani ki Chhatri, a
two-storyed cenotaph totally in ruins with inscriptions & frescoed ceiling
inside. But atop Jhajjari Darwaza the view of baoli Ghaus Ali Shah simply took
our breath away! The baoli, a large octagonal stepped well, was recently
restored by Archaeological Survey of India. We went down an intriguing
underground tunnel across Jhajjar Road to reach the precincts of the baoli. It
was an architectural wonder with many arched galleries all around, hidden
passages and stairwells for reaching the upper tier with a large well at the
centre of its octagonal structure.

I tried to capture pieces of history from the yesteryear in my camera for
posterity and headed back home heavy with the memories of a forgotten chapter!